the chances we take, the moments we make
by shipinharbor
Summary: Percy never really understood life until he met a girl that made every moment count. AU. One-shot.


**i've literally been trying to write this damn one shot for three years and i always forget about it and it automatically deletes. so fourth time's a charm?**

 **disclaimer: do i look like a fifty-three year old man who has written a novel series? (the answer is no) so i don't own anything about this series.**

 _"tired of lying in the sunshine_

 _staying home to watch the rain_

 _you are young and life is long_

 _and there is time to kill today"_

 _\- 'Time' by Pink Floyd_

Time.

Percy could consider himself a jack of all trades, but the one particular ability he could never quite grasp was the management of time. He mentally cursed the minutes in the day as he strode down the block at a brisk pace. He'd been waiting for this day for a long time, and he was late. He had finally worked up the nerve to ask out the cute girl who worked in the flower shop, Calypso. He'd stuttered for a while until her almond eyes lit up in understanding and sweetly agreed.

As the cold air nipped at his skin, he tightened his pea coat around himself and picked up his pace. His mind was clouded with _shitshitshit_ and _oh God I am so late_ until he collided with something rather forcefully and was knocked out of his thoughts.

"The hell?" said what he had presumed to be a pole.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I really didn't see where I was going," He apologized, holding his hand out to a blonde woman on the ground.

She ignored his hand and stood up herself, looking straight at him.

Percy's mind went blank.

For starters, she was lithe and tall, with silky blonde tresses and a tan that looked out of place in the dreary New York winter. The most striking thing about her, however, was her eyes. They matched the light gray sky above and seemed to calculate his every move. And right now, they were glaring right at him.

"Then next time, why don't you actually watch where you're going?" she mocked. Percy blinked. Then she was off, resuming her path down the avenue.

He shrugged it off and reached the pizza joint by Calypso's flower shop. She was waiting for him, no sign of anger or bitterness toward his late arrival. With her knit white sweater, genuine smile, and polite listening, the date was a very pleasant one. Calypso was a lovely girl - no doubt.

But she didn't have gray eyes.

* * *

Several uneventful days passed and Percy found himself in a quaint little coffee shop, tapping away at a computer. He didn't have work today, because working at his dad's marine life research center had its perks. So, in an effort to keep himself entertained, he decided to visit the café not too far from his apartment. With its plush sofas and local art work, it was a comforting place to be. He had immersed himself with a recent project when the bell rang, indicating the arrival of a customer. His eyes glanced toward the entryway before dramatically widening in surprise.

It was her.

The blonde he had obliviously steamrolled in the middle of the street was now striding to the counter. He listened to her order a double shot espresso on ice, despite the numbing cold outside, and placed the order under 'Annabeth'.

 _Annabeth,_ he thought to himself, and felt the sudden urge to approach the blonde vixen. Alas, he remembered the circumstances of their last (and only) meeting and realized she probably hated him. Besides, what would he say? _Hey, remember me? I plowed you down in the middle of the street on my way to a date?_

Instead, he settled for burying himself further into the squishy armchair, hoping to be invisible. Eventually Annabeth grabbed her drink and spun on her heel, facing the half-Percy, half-couch and approaching. He looked up at her and grinned sheepishly. She arched an eyebrow.

"Last time I saw you, I was sitting on the pavement. You seem a lot shorter now."

"Not fair, I'm just sitting down."

"Oh, how the tables have turned."

Percy chuckled before attempting to disguise it as a cough under her steely gaze.

"Here, let me make it up to you," he offered, walking over to a girl at the counter and paying for Annabeth's coffee.

She half-smiled when he returned and he swore his heart stuttered.

"Knocking me down and buying me coffee? I don't even know your name," she teased.

Percy flushed a bit. "It's Percy. Percy Jackson."

"Annabeth. Annabeth Chase." She looked down at her watch and cursed. "I've got to go. Try not to make me fall next time you see me, huh?" She called over her shoulder as she left.

Ironic, considering Percy was the one already falling.

* * *

 _Resist,_ Percy thought to himself as he paced around his kitchen island. _You must resist._

His eyes cast to the laptop on the granite counter, sitting so innocently that he was dying to use it.

 _No. That's weird. You don't stalk people on social media after one (and a half) conversations with them._

But eventually, his willpower broke and he sat down in front of the computer, allowing the screen to illuminate before furiously typing in his password. He typed in 'Annabeth Chase' into the search engine and her social media profile came up. He clicked on it eagerly, growling when it took a little longer than usual for the screen to load. Soon, his laptop was filled with pictures documenting the life of Annabeth Chase. There were several pictures of her with her step-brothers, and even more of her with her friends. A girl with choppy brown hair and high cheekbones appeared in many of them. Annabeth was laughing in some, serious in others, and beautiful in every single one. When he got to her most recent one, he froze.

It was a photo of her looking radiant in a loose white shirt and jeans. Next to her, a tall, surfer-like guy stood with blonde hair and dimples. Her only caption was a little red heart emoticon.

 _Who was he?_

Percy understood he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but the body language in the picture screamed _boyfriend._ He stared at the photo for several minutes, not knowing why he was so surprised. Of course she had a boyfriend.

He never expected that a tiny little heart had the power to break his own.

* * *

Percy was officially a hermit.

He hadn't left the apartment in days, calling in sick to work and using his time to marathon movie series. Percy didn't need contact with the outside world; he was perfectly content being wrapped in a blanket burrito and never leaving the couch. The half-eaten bag of chips was a nice touch, too.

His inner peace was disrupted by the literal smashing of his door and the heavy _clomp clomp_ of a pair of shoes. He knew those shoes. Grimacing, he looked up to find the one and only Thalia Grace.

"Dearest cousin, what brings you to my humble abode?" he grumbled.

"The fuck is up?" She interrogated, marching over to the curtains that had been shut for days.

"You always were the most eloquent one in the fami - _argh_!" Percy cried as she yanked them open and filled the apartment with blazing sunlight.

"Percy - you're a grown man, not a vampire. Deal with the sunshine."

His eyes were still adjusting to the brightness when he was suddenly and very rudely unrolled. He grunted as he landed on the floor, with Thalia holding the remnants of his blanket armor. She folded it and began picking up the various empty water bottles and bags of food.

Percy finally stood up, wobbling slightly, and trudged over to the kitchen where Thalia stood.

"Are you going to tell me why you're in even worse condition than your first hangover?" Percy winced at the memory. He hadn't exactly known his drinking limit, and instead drank enough Malibu that he passed out in the middle of a conversation. The next morning, he'd felt like an actual dumpster.

Percy ran his fingers through his tangled hair and rubbed his eyes. "I met a girl. She has a boyfriend. End of story."

Thalia crossed her arms and nodded, a undecipherable look in her eyes as she turned away to make breakfast. Percy knew she was never one to pry when someone didn't feel like talking.

After a hearty meal of eggs and bacon (the first real food he'd eaten in days), Thalia ordered him to go upstairs and shower. When he came back down, she was grabbing her keys and about to leave.

"We're going out tonight with a couple of my friends. You need human interaction," she commanded. Percy whined, but knew he couldn't argue.

The door closed, and Percy was alone once again.

* * *

 _I'm outside,_ read Thalia's text at 5 o'clock that evening.

Percy, in a gray henley and a coat, headed down the stairs and grabbed his wallet off the counter. He wasn't in the mood to go out tonight, but Thalia never took no for an answer and really, he had nothing better to do. Walking outside the complex, he saw her car, black against the early dark sky of winter. He got into the passenger seat, immediately immersed in the warm heat and loud punk rock music. Thalia looked at him through eyes heavy with black makeup and gestured her thumb over her shoulder.

Percy turned around and nearly pissed himself.

He was met with a charismatic smile and sandy blonde locks. They belonged to a guy Percy had spent the last couple of days envying.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Luke," surfer-dude greeted.

"Percy," he replied steadily (or as steady as he could manage).

Percy didn't want to move his eyes to the right. He knew what he would see. But he couldn't exactly keep staring at Luke or turn around in ignorance, so he shifted his gaze several inches.

And there, in all her glory, was Annabeth Chase.

She turned and gazed at him. He waited for her to light up in recognition and make a witty comment, but she just reached her hand out and said coolly, "I'm Annabeth. Nice to meet you."

He gave her a tight smile and muttered a 'likewise' before turning back to face the front and pretending like he didn't want to throttle someone.

The rest of the ride was fairly quiet, save for some small talk and The Clash blasting at full volume. Eventually they pulled up in front of a cinema. They walked from the car, hissing at the cold wind and discussing what film they should see. Annabeth wanted to see a historical fiction movie set in Greece, but Thalia and Luke wanted something jam-packed with action.

"Besides," Luke said as they purchased tickets for the action film. "Guns are way cooler than togas."

Percy swore he saw Annabeth's eye twitch, but she gently smiled and agreed quietly. He also swore that he was watching the movie, an hour later, but he knew he'd been watching Annabeth instead. He watched her eyes widen and narrow slightly at certain scenes and couldn't help but wonder how her eyes matched his shirt. He watched Luke put his arm around her shoulders and couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to be the one to do that.

 _Since when did he become so sappy?_

He focused back on the movie. Maybe some blood and violent explosions would revive whatever shred of masculinity he had left.

But when they got frozen yogurt after the movie, he watched her swirl a spoonful of strawberry flavor around her lips, and he wondered what it would be like to be that spoon.

 _That's...really fucking weird._

So, he continued to dig into his chocolate chip-layered yogurt and noticed Luke was eating plain vanilla yogurt.

 _What twisted bastard eats plain vanilla frozen yogurt?_

Percy concluded he was just looking for reasons to hate someone perfectly nice, even if he liked boring yogurt and action movies with essentially no plot.

The ride back home was less silent than the previous one. They discussed their thoughts on the movie, and Percy just hummed in agreement to their various opinions. They also discussed an upcoming party at Nico, the third leg in Percy and Thalia's cousin trifecta, and his boyfriend Will's apartment next Friday. Thalia's car rolled to a stop outside a nice apartment complex, and both Annabeth and Luke began undoing their seatbelts.

Luke flashed the two cousins a grin. "Thanks for a great time, you guys. See you Friday?"

Thalia nodded and a corner of her mouth curved upward. Percy raised an eyebrow at the minor action before turning to Luke and Annabeth. "Nice meeting you Luke. You too, Annabeth."

Something flashed in her eyes when he said the last part. There was a bitter satisfaction in addressing her as a complete stranger, just as she'd dismissed him early in the evening. She gave a small, tight smile before leaving the vehicle, Luke in tow. Once their retreating figures disappeared into the building, the engine came to life and the car was off.

Soon enough, Percy's residence pulled into view. Thalia pulled up to the curb and parked. He was expecting her to make some witty remark about finally getting out of the house, but instead she turned to him and quietly spoke. "It's her, isn't it?"

Percy's mouth fell open, a myriad of excuses and denials waiting to fall out, but he somehow just ended up nodding. She arched her eyebrows, not wanting to press, but he felt obligated to explain.

"We ran, I mean literally _ran_ , into each other on the street. And she was just so beautiful, you know? Defiant and prideful and pissed as shit at me. Then I saw her at a café and it was first time I'd seen her smile. I didn't know her name and then I found out she had a boyfriend and it sucked. It's kinda like hearing a great song but not knowing the name and realizing you won't be able to listen to it again." He rubbed his eyes.

Thalia fell into her regular person and smirked, but there was a slight sadness in her eyes. "When did you get so mushy?"

He grinned. "When did you start caring about other people's problems?"

"Touché," his cousin replied as he stepped out onto the pavement and immediately felt the cold air envelope him. He waved as she drove off before he turned and entered the building. As he unlocked the door to his apartment, he couldn't help but grin at the prospect of seeing Annabeth next Friday.

He was hopelessly hopeful.

* * *

Honestly, he didn't think Nico had it in him.

Percy had made sure to put in a lot of extra effort at the research center all week so he could get off early on Friday. He'd thanked the extra hours (and his dad) as he made his way home on Friday afternoon. He'd headed over to Nico's in a nice-fitting tee, with his beaded necklace around his neck and a bottle of Smirnoff in his hand. But whereas he'd been expecting a smaller get-together, the reality before him was a full-swing rave.

Part of him thought it had something to do with Will, the obviously more vibrant of the two. He laughed to himself and easily spotted the dark host.

"Nico, my dearest cousin. Quite the party you've got here," Percy greeted, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Most of it was Will. Dude's too friendly for his own good," Nico gestured to the grinning blonde boy a few feet away. Percy laughed again and gave Will a big hug. He had a lot of love for the guy who brightened up his cousin's life.

"I'll let you guys get back to hosting now," Percy said warmly before turning and wandering through the crowd. His eyes were everywhere, searching the faces until-

"Are you lost?" asked a feminine voice. He looked down to see a bright red-haired girl with paint-splattered shorts. Green eyes blinked at his startled expression.

"Uh, no, I'm Percy," he joked.

She laughed. "In that case, I'm Rachel. A friend of Will's. You?"

"Both, actually. Nico's my cousin and Will's a pal," he answered.

She nodded and analyzed him for a moment. "You could use a drink," she concluded before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the kitchen counter, where the copious amount of alcohol was.

He decided he was bewildered by, but also respected the undaunted attitude she carried as she concocted him a drink and occasionally hollered at a friend that would pass by. She handed him a red solo cup and he drank it without looking to see what it was. Sure, she was energetic, but he highly doubted she would drug him. His eyes wandered around the room scanning the faces until he found _her_.

Annabeth was leaning against a wall, looking bored as Luke chatted with a couple of his friends. Her gaze flitted around the room and rested on him. He found himself starting to walk to her, until a small hand grabbed his wrist and yanked him toward the mass of people dancing.

"Come on, let's dance!" shouted Rachel. Percy turned to look at Annabeth, who frowned before looking away.

Once buried in the crowd, the Rachel started to dance, drawing extremely close to him. She shoved him a little to encourage him to start moving, then brought her body even closer to his. They stayed like that for a while until Percy lied and told her he had to use the restroom. He headed upstairs, grateful for the distance for the nice, but personal-space-invading redhead.

The upstairs floor of the apartment was significantly more empty, save for the occasional giggle from an occupied room or tipsy girl stumbling from a bathroom. He spent several minutes up there, trying to buy time, until he heard a familiar voice whisper, " _Thals_."

Percy was torn between investigating the source or heading downstairs; curiosity got the better of him and he crept closer to the door. It was slightly ajar and he peered through the crack. One person was sitting on the bed, hands entwined in the blue-black hair of his cousin, who was bent over and kissing the figure. He was mentally scolding himself, saying he should just leave them alone, but when Thalia's head shifted and revealed Luke, he was frozen.

 _No, this can't be happening. Maybe I'm just drunk_ , he thought, but he was well-aware of his very minimal consumption of alcohol that night. _Maybe they're drunk. This is probably just a mistake._

But then Luke paused, burying his face in Thalia's hair and whispered something, and Percy knew it wasn't. The reality of the situation - of Annabeth's situation - crashed on him and he stumbled into the door. He had no choice but to swing it open and walk in.

The two looked at him, guilty, and he let his jaw drop as an act.

"Shit - Percy, no. I can explain. This isn't what it looks like," started Thalia.

"You mean you two _aren't_ about to go at it, while his girlfriend and your best friend is downstairs, unsuspecting?" He said cynically.

Luke hadn't even bothered to speak. He was frozen in shock.

Percy looked at him, shaking his head. "How could you?" He asked coldly, before turning on his heel and heading down the stairs.

His mind was racing. What was he supposed to do? Should he tell Annabeth? Would she even believe him? He reached the bottom of the stairs, panicking and furious at the same time. How could Luke do that to someone like her?

"Percy? Are you alright?" asked a voice that terrified him. He turned to see the blonde herself, a concerned expression on her face.

"I, uh, I..." he stuttered, trying to formulate words.

But he didn't have to. Thalia and Luke came running down the stairs, eyes wide. Annabeth looked at them, puzzled, before noticing Thalia's mussed up hair and their terrified expressions.

Her beautiful gray eyes turned hard and she scoffed, obviously putting two-and-two together. She turned to leave.

"Annabeth. Don't do this, please," Thalia pleaded.

"What do you want me to do? Give you a high-five?" She sneered, startling Percy with the hostility in her tone. "Congratulations, you and my boyfriend hooked up together!"

Thalia scrambled for words but found none. Luke stayed quiet, staring at the ground. And Percy just watched the beautiful blonde girl before him, with her shoulders squared and her chin up, as she turned her back on her slowly crumbling world and walked away.

* * *

He knew it was a long shot, but Percy knew he had to try.

He went to the same small coffee shop he'd encountered Annabeth in and asked the mocha-skinned barista (whose name he'd learned was Hazel) if the blonde regularly came. She nodded, eyes alight with the prospect of witnessing a romance unfold in her very own little coffee shop, and told him she'd probably come within the next hour. He grinned and asked her what Annabeth's usual drink was, then paid for it in advance.

So he settled onto one of the sofas and waited.

Sure enough, forty-five minutes later, the blonde walked in and ordered a double-shot espresso on ice. When she was about to pay, Hazel shook her head giddily and pointed at Percy. He reveled in the way her eyes brightened as she looked at him and was unable to contain a smile as she walked over to him. She pulled him to his feet and wrapped her arms around him and he thought he was going to pass out. He finally responded and engulfed her lithe frame with his arms, burying his head in her hair.

He was grateful for every moment of it.

Then she finally loosened her grip and looked at him, the gratitude for his simple gesture written in her eyes. She sat on the same sofa and was quiet before speaking up.

"You saw it, didn't you? The whole...encounter?" she questioned.

He was unsure of what to say. _Yeah, I saw my cousin getting it on with your boyfriend. Sorry about that?_

Instead he settling for asking, "Does it hurt?"

She looked at him, surprised. "The betrayal, yes. The two people I know better than anyone lying to my face hurt a lot," she explained. "But the end of Luke and I was inevitable. We loved each other, but we weren't in love."

He nodded in understanding. "That's awfully wise of you. You're one wise girl."

She laughed, a melodic sound that tugged at his heartstrings. "Wise Girl? I kind of like it. You're really something, Percy."

The sound of his name off her lips was ingrained in his mind, even as they discussed her architecture, even as they discussed his marine life research, even as they discussed turbulent childhoods and Greek mythology and unlikely friends.

And when she wrote her contact information in his phone, he'd never been so ecstatic to get a girl's number before. Not even when Silena Beauregard was the first to give him one in sixth grade. Not ever.

Percy swore he'd never met someone as vividly fascinating as Annabeth Chase. He'd never met someone who made him value every moment he spent in their presence.

She made every second count.

* * *

He'd sent her a text the next day, just a small, simple greeting.

As the door to the research center closed behind him and the early winter evening surrounded him, he felt a small buzz in his pocket.

 _What are your thoughts on pizza?_ inquired Annabeth's text.

He grinned and replied, _I'd sell my soul for it, any day._ She didn't say anything after that.

About thirty minutes later, he was residing in his apartment when the doorbell rang. He approached it slightly puzzled, since he had no recollection of inviting anyone over. He opened the door, revealing Annabeth, wind-swept and a box of pizza in her hand.

There was a multitude of questions he wanted to ask: _How do you know where I live? Who told you? How did you get that pizza so fast? Why are you so pretty and fucking terrifying at the same time? Marry me? Pizza?_

However, all that came out of his mouth was, "Ergh...?"

She laughed. "I got your address from Nico," she said, probably sensing his confusion from his inability to form words. "It was a really nice gesture, what you did the other day. I just wanted to thank you."

"I do have a thing for buying your coffee," he pointed out, reflecting on their first encounter at the coffee shop. She smiled at the comment.

"Let's just be thankful you haven't pushed me to the ground again," she teased.

"Hey! You make it seem like I deliberately knocked you over."

"I mean, that's one way to get a pretty girl's attention. Seems like something you would do."

"Yeah, you're right. My pick-up lines and strategic winks weren't doing the job anymore. I thought manhandling my next target would be a more effective approach."

"Well, look where we are now."

And he did. He looked at the blonde, sitting on one of the stools at the counter, gray eyes glinting with mirth, curls tucked behind her ear, a greasy slice of pepperoni pizza in her hand, and wow - what a vision it was. He thought back to the blanket burrito he'd made himself into when he found out she had a boyfriend, the strawberry frozen yogurt she'd eaten after the movie, the guarded look in her eyes when she'd turned her back on her best friend and boyfriend. He thought of all the little instances, however minuscule and minor they may be, that led to this very moment.

"Nowhere I'd rather be," he murmured quietly. She paused, gray eyes softening at his quiet words.

Because really, if he had just woken up a couple minutes earlier for his date with Calypso, if he'd been a little faster in the shower, if he'd been on time and watching where he was going, he wouldn't have ran into her. He wouldn't have had to apologize at the coffee shop. He wouldn't have googled her (yikes) and found out she had a boyfriend and been all sad and cause Thalia to come to the movies and come to the party. Hell, if he hadn't had to take a damn wazz while dancing with Rachel and gone upstairs at that exact moment in time, Annabeth would probably be at Luke's apartment or house or whatever instead. She wouldn't be here.

Even though the inexplicable ability of time to pass abnormally fast was something he cursed consistently, he realized it finally did something right by having him run into Annabeth Chase.

* * *

Friends.

Honestly, he'd much rather be friends with her than nothing at all, but every time she left his apartment (or vice versa), the light hug and 'see you later' felt like a screwdriver to the heart. Seriously, it took a lot of self-control (and deep-rooted fear) to not plant one on her every time they parted. Or said hello. Or frankly, any minute they were together.

Is there an appropriate amount of time to make a move on a girl after she's been cheated on? Is there some unspoken rule?

Percy constantly pondered these questions. He pondered them once again as Annabeth strode into his apartment, Chinese take-out in her hand and a movie in the other. She tossed them on his counter and pulled her hair out of her bun, letting the curls fall out and mesmerize Percy. Shrugging off her jacket, she plopped down on the couch next to him. "We're watching a movie."

"I mean, that's what we usually do," he noted.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I specifically brought this one."

He just nodded in acceptance and watched as she started the movie and brought their food over to them.

He should have seen the signs. The overbearing mother, the quirky best friend, the slightly suspicious boyfriend, the friendly old guy who gives great advice.

It was a fucking chick-flick.

"No," he started, getting off the couch to find the remote. "No, no, no. Hell to the no. This is a damn chick-flick."

Annabeth snorted. "Took you long enough. Now shut up, we're going to finish the movie."

"Have I no sense of masculinity? This is insulting! And since when do you watch chick flicks?"

"Sit your whiny ass down. There's a good message."

Reluctantly, Percy lowered himself to the couch, grumbling under his breath. She smacked his leg and made him pay attention to the movie.

The main protagonist, some wannabe writer, was stumbling on a room where she found her boyfriend cheating on her. Flabbergasted, she ran away, seeking solace with the nice guy she'd met earlier. Throughout the rest of the godforsaken movie, the two developed a friendship and were obviously into each other, but the guy was too shy to make a move. Finally, in some bullshit finale, they profess their feelings and all is well.

"Good fucking grief, it's over!" Percy whooped. Annabeth jabbed him with her elbow.

"Yeah, it took that guy such a long time to finally take the hint and ask her out. Really, how stupid can he be?" she said, her tone fairly sharp.

"Give him some credit, her boyfriend had just cheated on her. She needed time." He cringed. "Do you hear me right now? I sound like a teenage girl!"

She ignored his comment. "She was obviously over her ex. He was just too oblivious!"

"Pfft, not even," he retorted, when all of a sudden an empty takeout box collided with the side of his face. "The hell?"

"God, Percy, you are so dense!"

"It's just a chick flick Annabeth! It's not a big deal."

"It's not just a chick flick! It is a big deal!" she hissed, approaching him like an angry predator.

"Pretty sure it is."

"Just do something already, for God's sake! Make a move!"

"I'm not really one for dancing-" he started but was cut off by Annabeth pressing her lips against his own.

 _Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. Wait, what?_

"Don't bother talking to me until you grow a pair," she muttered, grabbing her purse and jacket and walking to the door. Percy broke from his shell-shocked state and practically ran across the room. Grabbing her wrist, he turned her around and kissed her deeply.

Her things dropped the ground with a dull thud and he pressed her up against the door she was about to open. Immediately, her arms wrapped around her neck and brought him even closer. He felt every plane of his body line up against hers, the rush of warmth spreading as her kissed her with even more fervor. Her lips were soft and strong and she tasted like strawberries and Chinese takeout. She sighed as he moved his hands along her waist, lightly squeezing and memorizing every dip and curve of her body. Her teeth scraped his bottom lip and he made a noise in the back of his throat. He swore, with every fiber of his being, that he could feel the minutes and the moments passing them by and yet, he couldn't them at all. He was so consciously aware of this exact moment in time and yet he felt like they didn't exist at all. Every thing about her and this moment, this infinite moment, was beyond his train of thought. Because honestly, as fucking cringe-worthy as it sounded, time and space and the grand spectrum of things were so trivial compared to it. And when she pulled apart, brushing her fingers over his cheekbones and resting her forehead against his, he felt limitless.

"I've been waiting for that since you knocked me over on the sidewalk," she whispered, body trembling with the beginning of laughter.

"I can't believe you just made me live out a chick flick."

This time, she laughed, hard and loud and genuine and he couldn't help but do the same.

No, he wasn't a jack of all trades. He fucking sucked at solitaire and really, he was oblivious as hell when it came to blonde girls with superiority complexes and he would probably never be on time to anything in his life.

But for all the moments that passed him by, for all the things he'd experienced in his life, this was it.

This was his favorite.

 **it's finally over! something i've tried to write for such a long time. i'm literally sweating. review!**


End file.
